Lombardo steps up effort to solve shortage of health care workers with executive order

Greg Haas
·2 min read
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LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Gov. Joe Lombardo is stepping up efforts to address the shortage of health care workers in Nevada, issuing an executive order on Friday that expands the mission of the Patient Protection Commission.

Lombardo also appointed Joseph Filippi as Executive Director of the commission.

“I am proud that Mr. Filippi has accepted the position to lead our Patient Protection Commission,” said Governor Lombardo. “His understanding of State government, leadership and support of the Department of Health and Human Services will be an asset as he steps into this new role.”

Established in 2019 by the Nevada Legislature, the commission was previously empowered to make systematic reviews of health care needs. But Lombardo’s action expands the commission’s scope in solving the problem.

One analysis of the shortage of workers indicates Nevada needs to hire more than 4,000 new registered nurses. More than half the population lives in an area with a shortage of primary care providers.

Lombardo’s move gives the commission the power to evaluate best practices for:

  • Attracting and retaining talent to address health care workforce challenges in urban and rural communities.

  • Improving access to primary care and public health services.

  • Removing unnecessary state administrative hurdles to recruiting and retaining health care workers.

  • Identifying sustainable funding strategies for strengthening the state’s health care workforce, which includes supporting competitive Medicaid reimbursements.

  • Ensuring recommended strategies for increasing provider reimbursement are based on payment methodologies that incentivize and reward for better quality and value for the taxpayer dollar.

  • Identifying strategies for evaluating new and existing state investments in efforts to improve the capacity and size of the state’s health care workforce.

Read the governor’s executive order here.

Filippi most recently served in the Director’s Office of the Department of Health and Human Services and during the COVID-19 pandemic he served as the Executive Assistant for the Division of Public and Behavioral Health where he provided strategic oversight and support to several boards and commissions tasked with protecting and improving the health and safety of Nevadans, according to a Friday news release.

The governor appoints the commission’s executive director and 12 voting members.

To apply to the Patient Protection Commission or other governor-appointed boards go to the Boards website to review the list of vacancies and complete an application.

It’s Lombardo’s second executive order issued this year. Last year, he issued 11 executive orders.

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